Born in a small seaside village in Galloway, Scotland, Sheila had freedom as a child to roam the beaches and hills surrounding her home. Even from a young age, she had a passion for drawing and painting what she saw around her. Encouraged by teachers at her secondary school in Stranraer she later gained a place at Glasgow School of Art where she studied textile design under the tuition of James Cosgrove. 

Moving to London after graduation, Sheila developed her skills in textile design, branching into illustration and then to making and selling drawings and paintings. At the same time, she married and had two daughters, taught art part-time at various London colleges and gained a teaching qualification along the way.

“Returning to rural Scotland after a long absence, my creative arena is the exquisite natural beauty of the Scottish Borders’ countryside, where I now live. The changing seasons, the colours of the landscape, natural forms, the light and the mood and memory they evoke provide endless inspiration.”